[thistleclub]

Police budget a ‘shell game’
(Hamilton Spectator, Andrew Dreschel, Mar 27 2013)

To borrow a line from Jorge Borges, the sweat-it-out struggle over the police budget is starting to look like two bald men fighting over a comb.

After all, city councillors on one side and Chief Glenn De Caire and the police service board on the other are only about $262,000 apart in terms of dollars.

At least that’s how it looks on the surface. But, like an iceberg, it’s what lies beneath that counts.

Let’s do this by the numbers and you’ll see what I mean.

Back in February, by a vote of 5-2, the police board approved a 3.71 per cent increase for the 2013 police operating/capital budget.

That represents an increase of $5 million over 2012 for a total budget of $140,675,370.

Last week, in response, Councillors Bernie Morelli and Terry Whitehead — the two dissenting police board members — brought forward a motion for a committee of council’s consideration calling for an increase of 3.52 per cent.

That represents an increase over 2012 of about $4.7 million for a total budget of $140,414,620.

Councillors postponed their next move until they could confirm some information and ask police board members and De Caire some questions.

But, as you can see, the difference between the two positions is only about $262,000.

So what’s the big deal, given the total size of the budget? Why risk a potential showdown which could see the whole dispute end up at a panel hearing before the Ontario Civilian Police Commission?

Here’s why: The police board-approved budget boils down to what Whitehead has quite rightly called a “shell game.”

The 3.71 per cent increase is based on De Caire hiring 20 new officers for 2013 but carrying over the majority cost of the hires to the 2014 budget.

Under the chief’s proposal, the new officers will add $511,750 to the 2013 budget but financial pressures of more than $1 million to the 2014 budget.

In other words, next year taxpayers will pay the piper double what the tune cost this year.